Luggage may typically be divided into two categories—soft luggage, and hard shell luggage. Soft luggage is typically wrapped in a soft material, such as cloth, canvas, leather, fabric, and/or vinyl. Soft luggage is typically constructed by forming an internal frame from metal and plastic materials which may be fastened together to define an interior compartment for storing items. Padding may then be applied to the exterior and interior of the plastic and metal frame, before a soft, cloth material is applied to the exterior and interior of the luggage by stitching and/or adhering it to the luggage frame and cushioning. Soft luggage is an attractive choice for luggage designers because it allows the designer to create more intricate details and aesthetic features in the soft, cloth material, which is easily cut, stitched, and arranged to create visually appealing luggage designs. However, soft luggage is typically less durable than hard shell luggage and is subject to tearing, ripping, and staining during the normal life of the luggage.
Hard shell luggage on the other hand is formed of a hard plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), carbon fiber, or Tegris®. Hard shell luggage has the advantage of resisting deformation by external forces, which affords greater protection to the contents against damage as well as preserving the overall shape and appearance of the luggage. However, hard shell luggage can be heavier than soft luggage, and designers tend to have fewer options for altering the aesthetic appearance of hard shell luggage, given the typical methods of manufacturing hard shell luggage.
Hard shell luggage may also require a more complex manufacturing process, such as injection molding or vacuum forming. These processes include the use of expensive and complex molding equipment, multiple heating and cooling steps, trimming steps, and cleaning steps to produce the luggage body. Once the front and rear hard shell components of the luggage are formed they are typically adhered to a metal frame that is placed on the center-facing edge of the hard shells. Locks, hinges, and other hardware is then connected to this metal frame. Liners and other internal components may also then be installed. This complex manufacturing process can be expensive and time consuming as compared to soft bags.
Limited options are presently available to designers for improving the overall aesthetic appearance of hard shell luggage. For example, luggage designers may seek to improve the appearance of hard shell luggage by painting patterns on the surface of the hard luggage shell. However, this method requires additional labor and time for individually painting each luggage shell. Furthermore, painting may only provide a two-dimensional design and does not provide for a textured or three-dimensional aesthetic feature. Others have sought to wrap hard shells in additional, stylized materials such as cloth or canvas. Again, however, this method requires additional materials and parts for attaching the cloth to the hard shells. Additional work is also required to secure the cloth or canvas to the hard shell. As with painting, this technique also only provides for two-dimensional design features. Finally, some designers have sought to form patterns within the hard shells themselves, by creating a unique, patterned mold for each hard shell design. However, this method requires significant startup costs associated with fabricating individualized molds for each hard shell design. These increased startup costs force designers to adopt a smaller variety of hard shell luggage designs for longer periods than they may otherwise desire, and prevents designers from easily altering the appearance of the hard luggage shell.
Items of luggage that attempt to combine certain features of hard and soft bags are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,936,127 to Fenton et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,617 to Davis et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entireties by reference herein. U.S. Pat. No. 8,752,683 to Scicluna also teaches a relatively simple and inexpensive manufacturing technique for forming hard shell luggage, the disclosures of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. Nevertheless, there remains a need for a method of forming hard shells for luggage that allows luggage designers to create new, three-dimensional and/or textured designs for hard shell luggage and rapidly and inexpensively manufacture hard shell luggage using a multitude of designs and patterns.